


have and hold

by Kitmistry



Series: Writers of Destiel's "The Day They First Met" Prompt-Week [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Pirate, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Minor Jo Harvelle/Sam Winchester, Pirate Dean Winchester, Selkie Castiel (Supernatural)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:21:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26439424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kitmistry/pseuds/Kitmistry
Summary: “Hello, Dean,” Cas says, affection softening his voice, blue eyes making Dean’s legs go weak.It’s been five years, and he’s still just as hopelessly lost as when he blinked his eyes open, wet and exhausted and alive only by some miracle, to find Cas bent over him. It turned out it wasn’t a miracle that saved him that day.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Series: Writers of Destiel's "The Day They First Met" Prompt-Week [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1923583
Comments: 18
Kudos: 149





	have and hold

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?” Jo asks for the hundredth time. 

The men carry the last of the provisions up the gangway and onto the ship under Bobby’s watchful eye. It won’t be long before they start preparing to hoist the anchor and sail back home.

“You know me, Jo,” Dean says, shrugging. “I’m not a fan of dry land.”

“You’re about to spend two months on dry land,” she points out.

“On a tiny island.”

“Yeah, alone and with only a small fishing boat.” She scowls. 

Things might be simpler if Dean explained to her, explained to all of them, but he keeps his secrets close to his heart for a reason. Maybe they’d understand, but maybe they wouldn’t. 

He pats her on the shoulder, giving her a smile he hopes reaches his eyes. “Oh, come on, Jo. You know me. I like my loneliness.”

“We’re worried about you, Dean.” She chews on her lip, visibly choosing her next words carefully. “Ever since that shipwreck, you’ve been different.”

“I faced death head-on,” Dean says, fighting down his urge to fidget. “That changes a man.”

“Yeah, but usually, it makes a pirate abandon the sea,” she says. “Not become obsessed with it to the point where you live in a small fishing hut in the middle of the ocean on your own for two months a year.”

“I feel like it brings me closer to my savior.” He doesn’t offer any details. Jo probably doesn’t want to know exactly _how_ close he and his savior have been getting over the past few years. 

She rolls her eyes. “There you go again with your newfound religion. You know, sometimes I wonder who you are and what you’ve done with my captain.”

Dean bites his tongue, lest he tells her he’s still as blasphemous as ever when it comes to God. Religion has very little to do with his experience fighting against that storm or his survival. Some things are better left unsaid.

She huffs, crossing her arms. “I’m not going to convince you, am I?”

“You've been trying for five years, and you haven't managed it yet.” He pulls her in for a quick hug, meeting Bobby’s gaze over her shoulder. He nods, and Bobby tips his tricorne in a silent goodbye. When Dean pulls back, he tells her, “Say hi to Sammy for me. I’ll make sure to visit him, too, sometime in the spring.”

“What makes you think I want to see your brother’s stupid face?” She sticks her tongue out, but her cheeks are quickly turning a deep red shade that matches the bandana holding her blonde hair away from her face. 

“I’m just saying, if you happen to see him, tell him I said hi.”

She juts out her jaw, which doesn’t do much to hide her blush. “Now that you’ve given me a message for him, I _have_ to see him.”

Dean resists a smile. “If you say so.”

“It’s Captain’s orders,” she says, nodding to herself. 

The ship is ready to sail soon after that, and in a matter of hours, Dean stands on the shore, waving goodbye to his crew. He’s going to miss them, of course he is, but it’s only for a couple of months or so. After that, they’ll be back to pick him up and sail the seas in search of the next navy ship to raid.

In the meantime, however, there’s someone else Dean has missed.

The sun is still high in the sky, which means Dean has plenty of time to air the hut and dust the surfaces. It has been closed for almost a year, after all. Bobby left him plenty of wood for the stove, so he makes sure it’s all piled in a dry place, protected from both the sea and the rain. Then it’s time to take care of the food. 

There’s something freeing about letting his boat drift away from the coast and out into the open waters. It’s quiet. Peaceful. The ocean vast and calm. Dean basks in the sunlight for a few minutes, inhaling the salty air, feeling the cool breeze against his skin. It’s been a decade since he became a pirate, and he still hasn’t grown tired of this. He imagines he never will.

While he waits for the sun to set, he casts a net, catching enough fish to cook a proper dinner and to salt a few to keep on hand for later. 

A shadow passes under his boat, close enough that the hull sways a little, and Dean smiles. 

That was sooner than he expected. 

The shadow moves towards the island. 

Dean quickly gathers his net back into the boat, grabs the oars, and starts the journey back. Anticipation makes his fingertips tingle, and he rows as fast as he can. Even when his muscles start protesting, he doesn’t slow down. 

The shadow has disappeared by the time he reaches the shore again, but he knows where to go. It’s the same routine he’s followed for the last five years. 

There’s a fire burning in the stove when he steps back inside the hut, warm shadows dancing across the four walls that make up their home. Cas is sitting cross-legged in front of the fire, one of the blankets thrown around his shoulders. 

“Hey,” Dean greets, unable to hold back his grin.

“Hello, Dean,” Cas says, affection softening his voice, blue eyes making Dean’s legs go weak. 

It’s been five years, and he’s still just as hopelessly lost as when he blinked his eyes open, wet and exhausted and alive only by some miracle, to find Cas bent over him. It turned out it wasn’t a miracle that saved him that day. 

Dean falls to his knees and then into Cas’ waiting arms, kissing every inch of skin he can reach. He sighs into the crook of Cas’ neck. “God, I missed you.”

“I missed you, too,” Cas murmurs against Dean’s hair. “Which is why I got you a gift this time.”

“A gift?” Dean raises an eyebrow when Cas pulls away to reach for a wooden box. “I didn’t get _you_ anything.”

“You’ve given me your heart, and your time, and that’s more than enough,” Cas says, in that way of his that makes everything seem so simple. It makes Dean’s heart skip a beat. “In fact, that's why I want to give this to you.”

He holds the box out for Dean to take.

Dean does. When he sees what's inside, he gasps.

“Cas, that’s… that’s too much.”

He tries to give the box back, but Cas grabs his arms firmly and stops him. “No, Dean, it’s not. It’s what I want. I love you, and I hate that I can only see you once a year. I want to be with you. I want to be with you as much as I can, and that is why I made this decision.”

Dean swallows past his dry throat. “But your skin… I could—you can’t trust me with it.”

“I can. I do. You’re a good man, Dean Winchester, the best I know. If there’s anyone I’d trust with my skin, it’s you.”

“What if you want to go back?” Dean whispers, hands trembling. Something warm tightens inside his ribs, but he doesn’t dare hope. 

Cas raises an eyebrow. “If I ask for my skin back, will you give it to me?”

“Of course,” Dean answers without hesitation. He’d never hurt Cas. Never. 

“And that’s why I trust you.” The lines of Cas’ face soften as he looks down at the box, then back up at Dean. “I know it’s hard for you to fathom it, Dean, but I… I’ve changed. Watching that wave swallow you, waiting to see if you’d wake up on that beach, spending time with you, loving you, has changed me. It seems that all I do these days is wait for the tides to change, for the temperature to drop, so I can see you again. And I—”

“Yeah, me, too,” Dean cuts him off, the words rushing out of him. “I feel the same way, Cas.”

“So I don’t see why I shouldn’t spend all my time with you,” Cas finishes.

“This is really happening?” Dean asks. “Are you saying that after these two months are over, you’re coming with me?”

Cas nods, sending Dean’s heart soaring somewhere above his head. “If you want me to, of course.”

Dean doesn’t answer. He carefully places the box next to him, still in awe he gets to hold something so precious, gets to hold Cas, to have him for as long as they want, and cups Cas’ face with both hands. 

A kiss is always the best way to seal a deal.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Writers of Destiel's "the day they first met" prompt week. This is day two out of five.
> 
> A huge thank you to [ FriendofCarlotta ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FriendofCarlotta/pseuds/FriendofCarlotta) and [ Feathers7501 ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Feathers7501) for being my betas.
> 
> To see what else I'm working on, you can subscribe to me as an author or follow me on [ tumblr! ](https://kitmistry.tumblr.com/)


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